Freshman Rep. Juan Ciscomani is one of the Republican stars in the spotlight in Congress.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Rep., Calif.)’s candidacy, Arizona Republican Cisco Mani, voted McCarthy in one of the 15 ballots it took him to win the gavel. Appointed Speaker of the House.
He was the only freshman selected by the House leadership to serve on the prestigious House Appropriations Committee. Ciscomani was also tapped to deliver the Republican Spanish-language reply to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. In his speech, Ciscomani said how his life embodies the American Dream.
In November, Ciscomani defeated his Democratic rival, former state senator Kirsten Engel, in a much closer race than many expected. Engel has announced his intention to run again in 2024 and could face a rematch in the 2022 congressional campaign.
Ciscomani remains decidedly conservative, but he has in mind the district’s demographics, which are reflected in the close elections, when enacting the bill. That is evidenced by the bills he has introduced to Congress and by the bipartisan Citizens Advisory Board.
Ciscomani was replaced by former Arizona Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who refused to run for re-election. He represents Arizona’s new 6th congressional district, which is being considered by the state’s Independent District Commission, which was tasked with redistricting last year.CompetitiveHowever, the newly formed constituencies, including the Tucson edge and parts of Pima County, as well as parts of Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Pinal Counties, are much more Republican than they were during the Kirkpatrick administration. became.
What did Ciscomani do before Congress?
Ciscomani immigrated from Mexico to Arizona at a young age and went down in history as the first naturalized American to serve in the Arizona State Legislature.
“If you talk to my father, he’ll say, ‘Where in the world can you hear us?'” We came to this country, learned English, immersed ourselves in its culture, and became. I spent most of my life as a bus driver and my son is now a member of Congress,” he said in Spanish. Reaction to Biden’s primetime speech.
Ciscomani’s candidacy for parliament was only his second successful political election. When he was 25, he ran for the Arizona House of Representatives, representing the then-Democrat-dominated legislative 29th district.
After the race, Ciscomani decided to focus more on his family, his studies and his job, calling it “everything that I think will help me when I run for office.”
Ciscomani, 40, said having more life experience has made him a better representative in Congress.
“People always ask me, ‘How can I run for election?’ We will get there eventually.”
Ciscomani served for about eight years as a senior aide to former Republican Governor Doug Ducey before running for Congress. There he learned about state-level governance.
“I got a lot of experience there on how much the government can do and where we can make an impact,” he said. “I have to say, I really enjoyed working on the state side.
Ciscomani said working at the state level has made him want to influence policy more broadly.
“I realized that a lot of[the issues I was interested in]were in federal jurisdiction, so I decided to run for Congress to influence it,” he said.
Arizona Elections:Democrats think abortion issue could oust freshman Rep. Juan Ciscomani
Ciscomani on his approach to legislation
The political demographics of the Sixth House District are reflected in Ciscomani’s approach to legislation.
“I represent a constituency that is roughly one-third Republican, third Democratic, and third independent,” he said, adding that in that constituency, in addition to Kirkpatrick, previously He pointed out that Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) was the representative. Gabby Giffords, Democrat, Arizona. Martha McSally, Republican, Arizona. and Ron Barber, Democratic Party of Arizona.
“This is a district that really likes its people and ideas. And… instead of calling it a swing district, it’s better to call it a split district,” Ciscomani said. “You have to bring the ideas and the results, so my approach is always to work with anyone who wants to bring the results home.”
paying tribute:Ciscomani wants to rename Patagonia Post Office in honor of former congressman
Ciscomani established a bipartisan Citizen Advisory Board
Ciscomani’s willingness to work with both sides of Washington extends to Arizona through his Citizen Advisory Board. Led by three co-chairs, Republicans, Democrats, and independents, the 40-member council works together to find consensus across different ideological frameworks.
“An idea I had during my campaign was told that it might not be possible in today’s day and age. I wanted to have an advisory board that could represent all of the county,” he said, “small businesses, nonprofits, whatever, I wanted everything.” “Everything is coming together beautifully. Republicans, Democrats, and independents will be able to work together.”
After winning the November election, Ciscomani called lawmakers and asked them to participate. Everyone accepted Ciscomani’s invitation.
“And the council’s rules are simple: you can only work with someone right next to you, regardless of party affiliation. Let’s work on issues we agree with and issues we disagree with. We will.” I don’t mind,” he said.
“I think that’s the idea I’m proposing and what my district wants,” he added. “I am speaking largely independently on this matter and will vote on behalf of my constituency in the best possible way.”
Ciscomani said the advisory board is a place to get feedback on policy ideas and find solutions to bipartisanly agreed upon issues such as jobs and border security.
Ciscomani says he learned to work with others because of his political beliefs where he grew up.
“Growing up as a first-generation Hispanic Republican in Pima County, you… work with people who don’t always agree, but always find common ground. And it’s something I’ve worked with for years. “It’s one of the things I grew up with in counties and cities where most people aren’t Republicans.” “And whether we agree with 90% or 10% of what someone says or does, we can… focus there.”
“Now my principles are our company. I am conservative and that is how I govern,” he added. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t listen or that the door to ideas is closed.”
Make your voice heard:How to contact members of parliament
Ciscomani’s bill reflects his bipartisan approach
Ciscomani’s willingness to work with anyone is reflected in the bills he sponsors.
His first four bills have bipartisan cosponsors.
Since he is also a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, two of Ciscomani’s bills involve veterans. The first is to create a program to encourage new lawyers and law school students to work with judges to process disability claims. The bill seeks to shorten waiting times for veterans, which can take years.
A second bill would include training veterans and military personnel retiring from active duty in the skills they need to join the workforce.
A third bill introduced by Ciscomani includes converting the Chiricahua National Monument into a national park. Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly introduced a companion bill to the Senate that was also co-sponsored by Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema.
“These are bills that make sense. …It’s a good idea with bipartisan support and should be enacted into law,” Ciscomani said.
In another bipartisan bill, Ciscomani sponsored the reauthorization of the Udall Trust Fund. The fund is overseen by the Udall Foundation, a federal agency independent of any government, that funds research related to the environment, Native American and Alaskan health, and tribal policy. It also facilitates training and sponsors the resolution of environmental disputes.
The fifth bill Ciscomani has proposed is the Transnational Crime Organization Illegal Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act, which would increase fines and strengthen punishment for those who support cartels by imposing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
A sixth bill proposed by Ciscomani would reduce copper important minerals The goal is to help governments establish more reliable copper reserves in the future, as the amount of copper available these days is declining. Arizona produces 70% of his domestic copper.
Only Republicans co-sponsored the bill in the House. Among them are Rep. Eli Crane from Arizona, Rep. Debbie Lesko, and Rep. David Schweickert.But cinema letter Along with a bipartisan coalition of senators, including Kelly, they urged Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to show copper as an important mineral.
The final bill proposed by Ciscomani would have renamed the post offices in his district after the late Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona).
Here’s what Ciscomani does with the Appropriations Committee:
One manifestation of the House leadership’s belief that Mr. Ciscomani is politically destined is through his commissions, particularly those on the House Appropriations Committee.
“I’m very honored and proud of that. There aren’t many freshmen on this committee…and in this Congress, there was just one freshman,” he said. “You sit by seniority, so I’m sitting at the very end of the table now. But I’m at the table, and that’s what really matters.”
Ciscomani is in the unique position of being the sole Arizona representative on the Commission. So he said he had communicated with legislative delegations to see what was important to them and their voters.
“I want to know what their priorities are so that I can be a champion for Arizona on this committee. I want Arizona to win,” he said. “My priority will always be to represent CD6.” added.
Ciscomani aims to ease tensions between federal and state governments
Ciscomani, working with Ducey, has a perspective on what it’s like for politicians at the state level to interact with representatives of the United States.
Ciscomani said that during his time working in the Ducey administration, “the focus was on communicating with the entire delegation.”
Yet tensions usually exist between national and state representatives, especially if they belong to opposite sides of the aisle. Arizona’s House of Representatives is made up of six Republicans and three Democrats, but the top three state representatives are all Democrats.
He said he hopes to improve his relationship with Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.
“This is not a partisan issue, so I really hope we can improve on this,” Ciscomani said. “We need to make sure we are on good terms, especially in terms of water and transport. These are issues where all partisanship needs to be set aside.”
Tara Kavalor is a political reporter for the Arizona Republic. She can contact her via her email. tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.
